


Remember When?

by mixtapestar



Category: Smallville
Genre: Amnesia, Confessions, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-09-24
Updated: 2006-09-24
Packaged: 2017-10-23 01:41:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/244841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mixtapestar/pseuds/mixtapestar
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lex has amnesia, and Clark has no idea what to do.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Remember When?

Clark hadn’t seen Lex face-to-face in almost five years. Not as Clark Kent, anyway. So imagine his surprise when he walked into his apartment only to find Lex sprawled comfortably on his couch, watching CNN intently.

Clark’s first instinct was to make sure this was really Lex. Growing up in Smallville made him more paranoid than was truly healthy. The next panic-filled thought was that Lex was here about Superman, and he was ready to reveal his secret identity to the world.

He hesitantly spoke up, drawing Lex’s attention away from the television. “Um, Lex?”

Lex looked up at him for a second before relief flooded his face. The comfortable appearance quickly changed. “Clark, thank God. They told me you’d be here, but I thought… I don’t know, a wife? Was gonna show up and kick me out…”

Wife? What was Lex talking about? “Lex, you know I’m not married.” He sat his briefcase in its usual place and shrugged off his suit jacket, hanging it up before grabbing the remote from the side table and turning off the TV.

Lex watched his movements carefully, a shyness on his face that Clark couldn’t understand. “No, I don’t,” he finally whispered. It took a few seconds for Clark to realize what Lex was responding to. He looked more closely at Lex’s unguarded expression and abandoned all other pretense.

He sat on the couch, close to Lex, leaning in to say, “Lex, tell me what’s wrong.”

Lex looked back at him for a few long moments. “There was a – an accident or something. They wouldn’t tell me the details, but I lost my memory.” A pause, and then, “You’re different.”

Clark’s mind reeled at Lex’s words. “So, you don’t know… remember… I mean, um. What _do_ you remember?”

Lex narrowed his eyes at Clark. “You’re _really_ different. Clark…” A worried look passed across his features. “Are we not friends anymore?”

Clark gritted his teeth. “We’re not exactly close anymore, no.” He tried to ignore the sadness in Lex’s eyes. “We should get you back to… your house. They’ll take care of you there until you get your memory back.” He stood to get his jacket, but Lex caught his arm. He turned back to see Lex with a panicked expression.

“Please don’t take me anywhere, Clark.” The look on Lex’s face gave Clark flashbacks to a horrible place with shock therapy and a ruthless father, and he suddenly swept Lex into a hug. Lex began to cry hopelessly on his shoulder, mumbling, “I don't know who did this to me.”

As Lex wept in his arms, Clark began mentally planning out who he had to call.

[…]

Over the next two days, Clark discovered that Lex couldn't remember anything after his third year in Smallville. Back in those days, they spent almost all of their time together. Lex had been his best friend. Now, Clark could see the hurt in Lex’s eyes every time he gave off the impression that things had changed.

Clark Kent had found the men responsible for Lex’s memory loss on his first day back at work. Superman could have easily confronted them that night; instead, he found himself dealing with petty crimes on the other side of town. The next night wasn’t any better. He flew all the way to Los Angeles just to deal with a mugging. A disgruntled Batman lectured him when he returned, as he had neglected a more important matter in Metropolis. Luckily, Batman didn’t ask too many prying questions.

Another two days later, when he finally worked up the nerve, it was surprisingly easy to get the antidote from the men. Superman was particularly menacing when he wanted to be. The men had given him what he wanted, but gave cryptic answers as to who was behind the act. They swore that they had never spoken to anyone. He had no choice but to accept their story. As long as the antidote worked, it wouldn’t matter anyway.

Later, Clark stood before the door of his apartment, hesitating to enter. He could feel the antidote weighing down his pocket. What would Lex say to him after this? Should he knock Lex out and take him home? What if it wasn’t safe there? With a sigh, he pushed open the door.

“Clark!” Lex exclaimed upon seeing him. “I’m glad you’re back.” He picked up the remote from the couch and turned off the TV. Clark took one look at Lex’s smile and decided the antidote could wait another day.

As Clark fell back onto the couch, showing his exhaustion, Lex began to talk about what he had learned from watching TV. His eyes drifted shut as he listened to Lex talk about current events and how this politician was doing his job wrong and how he would fix every situation. Then, suddenly, “Oh yeah. Clark, are you Superman?”

Clark’s eyes flew open immediately. “What?” He laughed lightly. “Yeah, right. Every guy wishes he were Superman. How do you know about him?”

Lex looked contemplative. “There was a feature on him on CNN. But… I could’ve sworn…” Lex leaned close, studying Clark’s face. Clark wasn’t sure how he should act. This wasn’t typical. Even that one time Lois had suspected him, she had the decency to not get in his face to scrutinize him.

“Clark?” Lex whispered, still uncomfortably close. Clark met his gaze. “Why aren’t we still friends?” Nervousness settled over Clark. Lex recognized it immediately. “Please, tell me.”

Lex ran a finger along his jaw, an action which should have been strange or uncomfortable but was soothing instead. Clark’s eyes slid closed. “We kept lying to each other,” he admitted softly. “You started pulling away, and I let you. You hate me now.” He opened his eyes again. “You hate Superman.”

Lex’s eyes widened minutely.

“I wanted to tell you, so many times, but it was too late. I made a lot of mistakes as a teenager. One of my biggest regrets is not telling you my secret.”

Clark wasn’t sure what to expect as a response, but a kiss was the furthest thing from his mind. Lex closed what little distance remained between them and brushed his lips lightly over Clark’s in a sweet, chaste kiss. Clark’s eyes were huge.

“It’s okay,” Lex whispered, “you’re telling me now.” He shifted closer on the couch and took Clark’s face in his hands, kissing him intently.

Clark was blushing all over. He responded briefly to the kiss, a quick, self-indulgent action, before pushing Lex away gently. “Lex, stop. We can’t do this.” He sighed, looking down at his hands. “When you get your memory back, you’re going to hate me again. You’ll hate me even more if you remember this.” Lex was shaking his head. “You’ll think I took advantage of you.”

“If I remember, then I’ll remember how I felt when I was with you. Besides, how do you know I’ll even get my memory back?” He shifted again so that he was partially in Clark’s lap. He was wearing a flannel shirt that he must have dug out from the depths of Clark’s closet. It was significantly larger than what he ought to wear, and the exposed skin was distracting. Lex brushed his lips over Clark’s neck, slowly and teasingly.

Clark had to stay focused. “No, you will get your memory back.”

Lex’s tongue darted to his neck, tracing small circles over the sensitive skin. Clark almost managed to hold back the pleased noise that escaped his throat, but not quite. “No, Lex. Stop. You have to listen.” He waited until Lex looked into his eyes. “I have the antidote.”

A series of emotions passed through Lex’s expression. Finally he asked, “Don’t you want this?”

Clark wanted to say no. This whole process would be so much easier if he just said no. But he had a second chance to not lie to Lex, and he wanted to take advantage of it. “I do, you have no idea how much I do. But in the end, it will either mean nothing to you, or worse, you’ll hate me even more for it.”

“But… it does mean something to me. I was in love with you before, and I still am. But this time, you’re not 16. Why can’t this be our second chance?”

“Lex. Look at me. Do you know who you are?”

Lex stared back for several long moments – long enough for Clark to wonder if he wasn’t going to answer. “I… when I lost my memory, they freaked out. They told me to go stay with someone I trusted… they wouldn’t tell me anything, Clark.”

Clark shook his head. “Lex. _Do you know who you are_?”

Lex closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath. “The President of the United States.”

Clark let out a breath he didn’t know he’d been holding. “Right. So you see why you have to get your memory back.”

Lex nodded slowly. “Will you just… kiss me? Just once?”

Despite a large part of his mind that screamed it was a bad idea, Clark complied. He could only resist so much temptation. The kiss started off slow; Clark was telling himself he would end it as soon as possible. But then Lex was moving completely onto his lap and biting and running his tongue along his bottom lip. Clark made a low noise at the back of his throat as Lex’s tongue slipped past his lips. He responded by pushing his tongue into Lex's mouth, reveling in the taste. Lex, his enemy, he reminded himself. He ended the kiss, hating himself for it.

Lex sighed and buried his head in Clark’s shoulder. “Clark?” he asked into the cloth, so that it sounded more like _qwrk_.

“Yeah.”

“I did love you,” Lex said, pulling back to look Clark in the eye. “No matter what happens after this, I want you to know that there was a time that I loved you. And if I feel this strongly now, even if we don’t… if we’re not friends anymore, then maybe I never stopped.”

Clark took in the sincerity in Lex’s eyes. “Okay.”

Superman flew the President back to the White House. Security let him in without any questions. He took Lex to his bedroom and left the antidote on the nightstand. He wasn’t going to wait around to see what happened when Lex got his memory back.

“Clark?” Lex asked as Superman turned to leave.

Clark quickly turned and kissed Lex passionately. When he pulled away, Lex looked more confident, smug. Not unlike the Lex he knew.

“Actually, I was just going to tell you that the glasses were a pathetic disguise, but this works, too.”

Clark kissed Lex one last time. He paused in the doorway and turned one last time. “I love you,” he admitted.

He was away before Lex could respond. As Superman flew back to his lonely apartment in Metropolis, Clark was left with that final image of Lex in his bedroom. Clark hadn’t pointed out that Lex was still wearing one of his plaid shirts. He tried not to think about what that implied about his hopes.

[…]

It had been almost a month. Clark hadn’t had any communication with Lex. Neither had Superman. He found himself immersed in his work, trying to keep his mind off those few days when he’d almost let himself believe in second chances. Clearly, Lex had remembered nothing. His security team would have notified him that Superman had brought him in, however, which was the one thing that wouldn’t compute in Clark’s thought process. Lex had not made any action toward his habitual anti-Superman campaign. He had barely shown up in the news at all, and Clark had been watching.

Clark was working on another inane story for Perry, tuning out most of Lois’s grumbling. When Lois’s phone rang, he barely registered it, but he started listening when Lois said, “What the hell? He’s right here, why don’t you just tell him yourself?” An outraged look crossed her face, and she stared at the phone. “That bitch hung up on me!”

Clark held back his amusement as he suggested, “Maybe it was a wrong number?”

Lois whipped around in her desk chair to face him. “Were you behind this?”

Clark shot her an annoyed look. “I don’t even know what the person–woman, I assume–said to you.”

Lois rolled her eyes dramatically. “She said to tell you to turn on your TV at 8 o’clock tonight. I was going to give you the phone, but she just said,” Lois made her voice a higher pitch, “ _Make sure he gets the message_ , and then she hung up on me.”

The phone rang again, and Lois turned around so fast that a lesser person would be feeling the neck pain for weeks. “Hello!” she demanded. “No! I won’t tell him! Not unless you tell me who you are!” With the help of super-hearing, Clark could make out the woman’s sigh before she hung up. He had no idea who she was.

Lois made a profoundly aggravated noise and slammed the receiver down. “I’m _not_ going to tell you what she said,” Lois shot back at him, as if the whole thing were his fault. Clark shrugged and went back to work. When her attempts to use *69 failed, she made more exasperated noises, but Clark ignored her.

Five minutes later, Jimmy Olsen walked past his desk. “Hey, Clark. Some lady called. She said to tell you to turn on your TV at 8 tonight and make sure it was a news channel. I dunno why she called me. Any idea what’s goin’ on?”

Clark just smiled back at him. “No idea, Jimmy. Thanks for letting me know, though.” Lois glowered at Jimmy from her desk, but didn’t speak up. She did, however, snap her pencil in half. Clark avoided her for the rest of the day.

He almost forgot about the cryptic calls, but around 7:30 Lois called his apartment. She politely told him to make sure he remembered to turn on his television. “What happened to change _your_ attitude?” he asked her.

Lois huffed at him. “I think you’ll figure it out by 8:05.” And then she hung up.

Clark pressed the button on the remote. A sitcom. Okay. It was only 7:40, though. What the hell was going on?

He was fixing himself dinner when a familiar voice rang out from the set. “Good evening.”

Clark quickly returned to the screen. Lex was making a public announcement? One that he wanted Clark to see…

“It is my privilege to announce to you this night that, effective immediately, marriage will be legal for all couples, regardless of sexual orientation. This has been a long time coming, and I am glad to have had a hand in the advancement of our society. My part in this legalization has spanned more than two years, but the endeavor to pass this law has existed for much longer.” As he went on to give more details, Clark fidgeted on the couch. “Furthermore, I would like to take this opportunity to pose an important question. I believe, and I am sure most of you would agree with me, that life is full of opportunities and risks. My question is directed at a man who makes the most of every opportunity and will risk everything for someone he truly cares for. A man who chooses to see the best in people, even when they cannot see it in themselves.” He looked directly into the camera. “Clark Kent, you truly are the love of my life. Will you marry me?”

Clark did not register the collective gasp from Lex’s audience. He was still staring at the TV screen when the conference was over, and the next sitcom had resumed in its stead. No sound broke him from his reverie: the laugh track on TV, the phone ringing nonstop (probably Lois), the sounds of the city below. He was lost to the world. Had Lex really just proposed to him? In front of… all of America? What did that mean about … well, everything? Did Lex remember what happened when he lost his memory? What did this mean for Superman? What was Lois going to say to him at work tomorrow? What was he supposed to do next?

Finally, his attention was drawn elsewhere by the vibrating cell phone in his pocket. The only two people that had the number were his mom and Chloe, despite Lois’s continual request to have it. His life was a whole lot easier when Lois could only hound him on landlines. “Hello?” he said, hoping it was his mom. Chloe might be a bit much to deal with right now.

“Clark.”

Clark’s breath caught in his throat, and he didn’t breathe for a few seconds. “…Lex?” he whispered into the phone.

“I probably shouldn’t have called you on this number, but I figured you wouldn’t be answering your apartment phone. And I also told myself your mother wouldn’t have given me the number if she didn’t think it was okay for me to use it, so… is it alright?”

“You’re seriously asking me if you can call my cell phone?”

“I was always taught to keep talking over the awkward silences,” he said, laughing lightly. Clark could hear every bit of nervousness in that laugh.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. Yes. My answer.” Clark exhaled. “My answer is yes.”

Lex laughed again. Clark could visualize him relaxing into his chair. “Just for the sake of my sanity, could you be more specific?”

“Yes. I will marry you.”

“Oh, thank God. Clark, I was so afraid that those days were just a dream. You have no idea.”

“You could have just called and asked,” Clark suggested, starting to relax.

“You make it sound easy. No, I was afraid that if I called you, you would tell me it never happened, even if it had. I wanted to do something so epic that you wouldn’t doubt me.” Clark could hear the smile in Lex’s voice. “I’m not that big of a risk-taker, though. I called your mom almost every day.”

“You’re kidding.” His mom knew about this the whole time?

“No, not at all. I knew she was going to be extremely wary of telling me what I wanted to know, so I told her everything that I thought happened when I had amnesia. I told her what I felt for you, and what I wanted to do. It took me two weeks to convince her I was sincere. Your mother’s a tough woman. Very difficult to convince when her son’s well-being is at stake. After that, it was only a matter of time before everything else fell into place.”

Clark shook his head. “I can’t believe you got gay marriage legalized.”

“For you,” Lex added.

“For _me_.”

“I can’t believe you’re still sitting at home in Metropolis. I really want to see you.”

“I want to see you, too, but Superman showing up tonight would be a horrible mistake, and Clark Kent will be watched a lot more, now.”

Lex inhaled sharply. “I’m sorry, Clark. I shouldn’t have forced this on you without warning. Maybe it was a mistake to make such a display.”

Clark shook his head, despite Lex being miles away and unable to see him. “No, Lex, stop. You did a wonderful thing. I still can’t quite believe it really happened, because I never imagined… anything. I love you, and it’s not conditional or forced. I want to marry you. Superman can manage.”

“You have no idea how much it helps to hear that from you. This has been the longest month of my _life_. I’m coming to see you as soon as I possibly can.”

“I’ll be looking forward to it. Maybe that will help me get through my day at work tomorrow.”

Lex laughed, a sound that soothed Clark. “And Clark?”

“Yeah?”

“ _This_ time you’re going to let me do more than kiss you.”

Clark blushed. “Lex, I…”

“I’m sorry, Clark. I shouldn’t be so forward when we haven’t even really…”

“No, it’s not that. I just… You’re making it really difficult for me to keep myself here in Metropolis.”

“Ah.”

“Okay, well. I had better answer my landline before Lois decides to physically come interrogate me.”

“If she’s not already on her way,” Lex added.

“Yeah. God, I hope not.”

“I’ll see you soon, Clark.”

“That had better be a promise.”

[…]

Walking into work the next morning was a nightmare. Everyone had their own questions. They were reporters, after all. The problem was that Clark wasn’t sure what Lex wanted as common knowledge and what Lex would say was none of other people’s business. He tried to evade personal questions and give very general answers for the others. Everyone asked, of course, if he had said yes. The most shocking response was from an elderly woman that he had worked with for years, who tried to convince him to change his mind: tell Lex no. He politely told her to mind her own business, and then avoided her desk for the rest of the day. His favorite response was from Jimmy Olsen: a wink, a thumbs up, and a “Good job, Mr. Kent!”

Lois wasn’t at her desk when Clark finally made his way to his own. He had talked to her the night before, but was able to use exhaustion as an excuse to hang up quickly. He was dreading her arrival most of all.

When he saw her walking in, he quickly tried to appear busy. However, she came in and sat down without addressing him. “Lois?” he asked hesitantly.

“Hello, Clark,” she said without turning around. Her tone spoke volumes.

“Wait a minute… you’re _mad_ at me?”

No response.

“What for?”

She tapped at her keyboard, seemingly ignoring him. Clark counted to ten, and then… “I just don’t understand why you wouldn’t _tell_ me that you knew the _President_!”

Clark stared at her in surprise. “That’s what you’re mad about? Listen, Lois, I don’t ask you questions about _your_ personal life.” She scowled at him. “What happens between Lex and I is no more your business than it is the business of anyone else in this office. Now, are you going to accept that, or should I find someone else to work with?”

Her eyes widened in response. Clark understood why. He’d never stood up for himself so forcefully before. “No, I… I won’t bother you,” she managed to respond, still looking shocked.

“Good.” Then, his phone rang. “Hello?” he politely answered, noticing out of the corner of his eye as Lois slowly turned to face her desk again.

“Want to die yet?” Lex asked with a sympathetic tone.

“No, actually, I think I’m handling it quite well. So, what’s the deal? Do we have a plan yet?”

He could almost picture Lex’s smile. He could hear it in Lex’s voice when he answered, “I’m getting on a plane in an hour.”

“An hour? But you’ll be here before I get off work!”

“That’s the idea.”

“Oh no. What are you planning?”

“See you after lunch, Clark.”

And then he hung up. Clark stared at the receiver, hoping against hope that Lex wouldn’t do something too rash.

He could see Lois itching to ask about the phone call, and he inwardly praised her for holding her tongue.

The hours seemed to drag by as Clark waited for the outcome of Lex’s cryptic words. Finally, a lot of noise coming from the elevators drew his attention. Sure enough, he looked up to see several Secret Service agents keeping his fellow co-workers away from Lex.

As Lex got to his desk, he motioned for Clark to stand. Clark stood, feeling the blush throughout his body. _Every_ one was watching them. This was the kind of attention he had been avoiding ever since Superman came into existence.

“Clark Kent,” Lex began, quietly so that only those close by would be able to hear him. “I’ve loved you for years. I remember coming back to life on the river bank, looking into your eyes. You are my new beginning. I want you to be in my life forever.” Clark stared in amazement as Lex got down on one knee. “You deserve for me to do this properly.” Lex pulled a box out of his pocket. “Will you marry me?” He snapped open the box.

Within the box was a solid gold band with the word _destiny_ engraved on the inside. Clark took the ring and slipped it onto his finger. It fit perfectly. “Of course I will,” he whispered, staring at the ring. Lex stood and captured his lips in a kiss before Clark could stop him. Deciding that nothing could further his embarrassment, he kissed back as if they were alone. Lex smiled into the kiss before ending it. He quickly provided another box that held his own ring. Clark slid the ring onto Lex’s finger, then kissed his palm gently. Applause rang out from his co-workers, and Clark hadn’t blushed this much since he was a teenager.

Lex disappeared into Perry’s office for a while. When he returned, he informed Clark that he had the rest of the week off. Then they made out in the stairwell for a few minutes like they were young again. Finally, Lex had to go, but left Clark with a lingering taste on his lips and a promise of tonight.

If Clark was a bit less focused on his work for the rest of the day, no one said anything. He quickly called Bruce on his way home, asking him to cover Superman’s patrol tonight.

He had to sneak out of work to avoid reporters outside, and when he got to his apartment, Secret Service men were standing outside his door. It had been a hell of a month. It was all worth it, though, to walk into his bedroom and find the President waiting for him, wearing nothing but a seductive smile and his engagement ring.

THE END


End file.
